Archives for August 2014

‘To be fair, a lot of this rebuild begun with former GM Darcy Regier and despite all of his mistakes, he got the team off to a seemingly positive start on the road to improvement through trades that brought in multiple first-round picks and used those to find potential franchise staples like Zemgus Girgensons, Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov. The latest addition was Murray’s however, in nabbing forward Sam Reinhart second overall this year. That’s just another step towards improvement.’

‘“Fill in the blanks. That’s what we’re interested in,” Sabres President Ted Black said after the team and NHL announced the league’s annual scouting combine will be here the next two years during a news conference in First Niagara Center.’

‘Speaking after Monday’s news conference to announce the NHL Scouting Combine is coming to HarborCenter in 2015 and 2016, Black told The News there has been no change in the team’s operations and no inability to stay in touch with ownership while the Pegulas are pursuing an NFL franchise.’

‘“I’m really excited about it,” said Gionta, a lifelong Greece resident who signed a three-year, $16.75 million contract on July 1. “I wanted to be in Montreal but when that door closed, this is where we wanted to be. Now there’s that excited anticipation.”’

‘The Sabres have submitted a bid for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, team president Ted Black said. They want the NHL All-Star Game someday. They also plan to pursue the 2018 world junior championship “very aggressively,” he said. The Sabres hosted the event in 2011.’

‘The event, slated for late May or early June, will be held at First Niagara Center and the HarborCenter complex that is scheduled to be completed soon. The combine will feature the top hockey talent from North America and Europe before the NHL Draft is held in June.’

‘“The NHL Combine is an essential event for all of our Member Clubs in advance of the Draft, which continues to grow in importance,” said Colin Campbell, senior executive vice president of NHL Hockey Operations. “The League has pushed to improve the Combine each year and the state-of-the-art facilities in Buffalo will allow us to further enhance the quality of the event for our teams, prospects and media.”’

‘”I definitely have a chip on my shoulder,” said Stewart, who last season sustained a right ankle injury that limited him to five games in a Sabres sweater. “I wasn’t happy with my year last year, either. I feel like I have a lot to prove and it’s just going out and doing it. I’m going to come in and I’m going to be consistent. I think that’s been a knock on me. I’ve been able to put together good stretches and then go cold, but I think we have a coach like Ted Nolan who believes in you. I think it’s going to be hard not to have the best season of my career so far.”‘

‘”Probably the best couple of words I heard out of Tim’s mouth was when he said ‘five years,'” said Ted Nolan, who went 17-36-9 after taking over as interim coach and signed a three-year contract extension in March. “Who knows what’s going to happen five years from now? I always, as a coach, just worry about now. My now is preparing this team to be the best we can. If we get the players like we did this summer, it could be a very short rebuild and we get to the point to where we’re battling for what everybody wants, and that’s the Stanley Cup.”‘

‘”If we’re going to compete with some of the best teams in the League, we have to be much stronger,” coach Ted Nolan said. “We have to be much more committed and we have to play with a lot more energy than with what we have been playing. We implemented that this summer and we’ll see what happens come the start of the season, but we have to prepare much better than we did in the past.”‘

‘Josh Gorges and Andrej Meszaros will be counted on eat minutes and help the young players on defense. Gorges and Gionta in particular were considered two of the key leaders in the Montreal Canadiens dressing room.’

‘”Probably the best couple of words I heard out of Tim’s mouth was when he said ‘five years,'” said Ted Nolan, who went 17-36-9 after taking over as interim coach and signed a three-year contract extension in March. “Who knows what’s going to happen five years from now? I always, as a coach, just worry about now. My now is preparing this team to be the best we can. If we get the players like we did this summer, it could be a very short rebuild and we get to the point to where we’re battling for what everybody wants, and that’s the Stanley Cup.”‘